”It’s social media, not social slagging. It seems to have turned into that for some people,” Lee Westwood said. Westwood, and his Ryder Cup teammates who also tweet, have been upset with the negative thoughts fans have expressed towards the golfers.

Northern Ireland golfer Graeme McDowell believes some of the criticism from followers is evil. ”People open an account and all they want to do is abuse celebrities and sportsmen to try to get a response,” McDowell said. ”You try not to encourage them, and generally I just block them, but if you want to stay on it you’re going to have to accept some absolute trash that people talk.”

If Westwood does decide to close his account, it would mark the second time in less than a month we’ve seen an athlete succumb to the public abuse. There are many sports fans who envy the money and fame that professional athletes receive. The jealousy just leads to written, and sometimes verbal, abuse from supporters towards athletes in spite of their success. We don’t condone abuse by fans of players, however, it’s hard to have sympathy for these professional golfers who are complaining.

Cry me a freaking river, just ignore the haters, it’s not that hard. As a golfer, if you’d liked to give us insight on your daily grind, continue to tweet and wear a thick skin. You can’t let little things like these bother you as a professional. Besides, for every one jackass, there are ten people who truly care and appreciate what you have to share.